THE Cebu City Government will soon be using a recently developed “crypto coin” as a way to promote cashless payments at City Hall.
This after city officials and proponents announced that C Pass Inc., a Cebu-based joint venture that has an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city government to develop a stablecoin for use in financial transactions, has entered the third stage of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) vetting process for Virtual Asset Service Providers.
“Once the process is completed, C Pass Inc. will begin to issue its stablecoin C Peso and launch its app-based and web-based electronic wallet that will enable users to purchase, send, receive and swap cryptocurrency and fiat money,” explained C Pass Inc. treasurer Charlie Seo.
It uses the same system employed in Korea and has a one- is-to-one crypto to fiat value, meaning one C Peso is equivalent to P1.
Not affected by currency fluctuation, inflation
Because it is stable, the value of the coin does not change regardless of currency fluctuation and inflation.
This makes it advantageous for people, including low-income Filipinos, overseas Filipino workers remitting money to family, tourists and foreign investors, said Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, in a statement sent to SunStar Cebu on Thursday, August 11, 2022.
Online bank transactions
Garcia noticed that some transactions in City Hall involve people who are abroad and who already have ready access to cryptocurrency but still prefer online bank transactions which are viewed as less secure, more time-consuming, and involve fluctuating interests and fees.
“Plain and simple, at the outset, we wanted a cashless system. But there are many platforms out there. So, we welcome any and all forms of cashless transactions such as GCash, Paymaya, C Peso, etc. We want something stable, convenient, secure and cost-efficient. Anything that makes us more business friendly,” Garcia said.
Convenience
Beyond transactions at City Hall, issuing the C Peso is also convenient for those who want easy access to buying, selling and trading cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and other stablecoins, said C Pass’ Seo.
People, Garcia added, can buy and load onto their digital wallets, and then use them in remote transactions conveniently and safely using either a web-based or an app-based remittance system.
In an interview following the signing of its April 2021 MOU with the City, C Pass Inc. director Kim Jae-won said their stablecoin C Peso is based on Ethereum’s blockchain technology.
Kim said their technology will “contribute to and revitalize the economy in Cebu City” and sees opportunities for its wider use, beyond making City Hall payments.
He foresees its use in foreign direct investments and trade.
City connects with GCash
Meanwhile, Garcia announced that recently met with electronic money issuer giant GCash to discuss integrating the company’s technology for real property and business tax payments.
“In terms of convenience for taxpayers and, given the lessons learned from the pandemic, cashless is really the way to go, and we are committed to looking for the best arrangements for our stakeholders,” said Garcia, who was head of the Cebu City Council’s local finance committee prior to becoming vice mayor. (PR)